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THE RISE AND FALL AND RISE OF 2FACE IDIBIA

It was a cold Harmattan evening, some time around the Christmas belt of 1996 when the first encounter took place in Festac Town, Lagos. I was on my evening rounds, delivering personalized /designer seasons greeting cards for my elder brother's upstart firm, African Sense. I was worn out to a frazzle and disappointed. I'd made a dozen deliveries but my clients just weren't paying up. For the umpteenth time, I wondered, 'Am I in the right profession?'

As I normally did every evening, I stopped at Laiban, a popular meat shop, bar and restaurant, located on 201 Road, Festac Town, for a stick of life.

The drone of generators filled the night air and yellowish filament bulbs dotted the streets like dying candles; but Laiban was an oasis of light in the surrounding gloom; its light beckoned from afar like a beacon.

I took a deep drag from my cigarette and savoured the nicotine as it travelled down my lungs and hit my bloodstream. It was an Aspen menthol. I felt relaxed.

'Ogaga, na wao, this man say make I give am money!'

I swung around and beheld this dark-skinned, handsome guy with Jerry Curls, clad in a dark top and a pair of matching pants. What struck me was the symmetry of his visage. Despite his mood, his eyes radiated an inner peace. On my delivery rounds, I'd made a number of acquaintances, probably this was one of them.

There was exasperation in his voice, yet the peaceful look remained as he complained, gesticulating: 'E dey beg me make I give am money. Na me be im papa? Na me cari am come Lagos?' he queried in pidgin.

It was obvious he was getting some attention as a little crowd had begun to gather.

'No vex, 2face,' a guy sympathized with him.

'No mind am, na useless man,' another added in pidgin.

By now, we were standing next to each other and I extended my hand for a handshake. Meanwhile, obviously embarrassed, the man who had started it all quietly slunk away into the gloom. Thanks to power outage.

We shook hands and even as I felt that warm grip for the first time, little did I know that I was beholding the man that would inspire millions of Nigerian youths and rewrite the history of Nigerian music. His name was Innocent Ujah Idibia (2Face) of the now defunct Plantashun Boiz.

Even at that time, Festac Town residents already saw his light shining. He was already building a fan base, which would extend to the entire nation, Africa and around the globe within a few years when he would rise to become one of the most successful artistes in contemporary times.

When the future star was born 35 years ago in Benue State to middle class parents, little did they know that he would grow up to be a musical icon and would one day set the pace.

But as he marked his 10th anniversary in showbiz recently, it was a grill of mixed blessings. It was, indeed, 10 years of ups and down, trials, betrayals, scandals, romance and above all, 10 years of hard work and dedication.

In the beginning

If there was one thing that was never lacking in the Idibia household, 2face says it was great music. From Jimmy Hendricks to Bob Marley and Teddy Pendergrass, to mention a few, young Innocent was bombarded by the great masters.

'I grew up around music. As a child, I listened to a lot of old school stuff. I loved to sing a lot. My mum was a singer, so I guess I got the talent from her,' he once told reporters in an interview.

Ironically, his mum, a teacher, must have believed that Innocent would toe her line and pursue his education. But that dream crashed like a pack of dominoes when he got to Institute of Management & Technology (IMT), Enugu and discovered he was cut out for music.

Top comedian, Klint Da Drunk testified to 2face's singing prowess when he opened up on how the future star killed his budding singing talent and put him on the road to comedy and fame.

'Back in the day, I was wondering what to do with myself. I used to sing and believed I was a damn good singer until the night I heard 2face sing at a show where I was billed to perform as the main attraction at the Institute of Management & Technology (IMT). Being a big boy on campus, the organisers pleaded that I should give this new kid on the block a chance. After his performance, I would do my stuff. When I heard 2face sing, I knew my singing career was over! That was how I found comedy,' confessed the rib-cracker.
Within a short while, the student of Business Administration made a major breakthrough doing jingles on the famous radio show, GB Fan Club on Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS). Meanwhile, he became the favourite act on campus headlining most shows. From Enugu State University of Science & Technology (ESUT) to IMT and University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), 2face was the hottest and most sought after act as far as entertainment was concerned.

So strong was the attraction that he and Blackface (Augustine Ahemdu) dumped their educational careers and relocated to Lagos. That decision brought them to Festac Town, Lagos, where they resided for years at Blackface's uncle's home, a retired army officer in a move that put him on collision course with his parents.

Willie Worksman Okorie was one of the first people to work with them in Lagos. He introduced them to the Popular Rothmans Groove and Nelson Brown, the music producer who would bring then to national consciousness under his record label, Dove Entertainment.

Plantashun Boiz

After Nelson Brown heard them perform at Club Towers, Lagos Island, he decided to take them on. In 1999, Face (Chibuzor Orji), the third member, joined the duo and the Plantashun Boiz was born.

Their debut album, released in 2000, was a runaway success which played a central role in triggering the Afro Hip-hop revolution begun by De Remedies in 1998 when they dropped their debut single, Shakomor.

Aptly titled, The Beginning (Body & Soul), it had tracks like Plantashun Boiz, a remix of Bony M's Plantation Boys, Body Vibration, Ememma, You & I, Can Live, Ready and Iwo Ni Mo Fe (Baby It's You). They stole our hearts and established themselves as a force to reckon with alongside Black Reverends of the Ayamgba fame and the De Remedies, to mention a few.

Break-up

By 2004, the effect of their debut was beginning to wane and rumour was rife that the trio was back in the studio to record a sophomore effort entitled, Sold Out. However, 2face had other plans. He was on the verge of launching his solo career at the expense of the future of the group he helped to found.

At the time, in a chat with journalists, Blackface had declared that the album would be completely Sold Out. While Nigerians held their breath and waited, the trio got down to work.

Despite denials and counter-denials, the crack soon appeared on the wall and they began to drift apart.

'Going solo is something that I have to do. I have always told Faze and Blackface that I would have to do this some day. My only fear now is, 'Will Nigerians accept me?' Yes, as a member of the Plantashun Boiz I was already a brand. The question is, 'Would they accept the transformation from 2face of the Plantashun Boiz to 2face Idibia?'' he had confided in close pals.

While Blackface took the news of the break-up with philosophical calm, Face was bitter! He packed his pain into a track entitled, Faze Alone, a Reggae number in which he expressed disappointment and took 2face to the cleaners, insisting the latter had betrayed him.

Meanwhile, Sold Out was later released, but it performed woefully in the market.

The Rise

His joining Kennis Music confirmed rumours that Uncle Keke had been on his trail for a while. When 2face dropped his solo effort, Grass to Grace, Nigerians and indeed, Africans were receptive. Everyone, irrespective of demography, bought into the new brand hook, line and sinker and overnight, he became the hottest act in the country. Tracks like Nfana Ibaga, Ole, You No Holy Pass, African Queen and Right Here dominated charts.

However, African Queen, a song dedicated to the African woman, which he co-wrote with Blackface, remains his greatest hit ever. It was the track that transformed him into a super sex symbol as women threw themselves at his feet wherever he performed.

Was it charm or charisma? Or was it just raw animal magnetism? Whatever it was, 2face had it in abundance and he unleashed it on his female audiences; what with his super delivery and his innocent looks.

From Senegal to Tanzania, from South Africa to Liberia, from Ghana to the Gambia, women trooped out in their numbers to watch and to marvel at the new

sex symbol setting stages on fire. He was adored by women.

So popular was the song that it became the major subject of discussion in Internet chatrooms.

The video became a favourite on YouTube. There were reports of female fans trailing him across Africa while on tour. 2face succeeded in replicating the feat the late Teddy Pendergrass achieved in the US in the early to mid-80s when women threw underwear at him whenever he performed. Our TV screens were filled with pictures of excited, screaming and fainting female fans at his shows. There were reports of female fans breaking into his hotel room during shows or sneaking backstage to be with him.

Recently, a close pal had opened up on the challenges he faced and how they fought to protect him from these tigresses.

'They trailed us across Africa and would do everything under the sun to bed him. There was the case of a set of ladies who trailed him from Nigeria to Ghana and then to Liberia. And guess what? They were booked in the suite right next to 2face's. When we discovered them, we were shocked! These girls would hang around hotel lobbies and staircases and wait patiently to pounce on him. For that reason, whenever we're on tour, he always pleaded with us to stay with him in his room because if we we're there, the girls would not be able to do anything.'

African Queen became a classic and overnight, 2face developed a cult-like following among women.

At the time, in an interview with a national newspaper, Orits Wiliki had described African Queen as Nigeria's first national hit in a long time. Efe Omoregbe, boss of Now Muzik, had described him as the light of his generation. African Queen won the heart of women all over the world; both old and young, white and black.

Consequently, when MTV Base, a 24-hour music and general entertainment channel from MTV Networks International, decided to set up in Africa in February 2005, it needed a credible face to drive the brand and 2face, the poster boy of the industry, suited that bill. Overnight, he became a household name.

Recounting the first time he got royalties from Kennis Music for his debut effort, he said: 'That morning, Uncle Keke called me to come over to Kennis Music Studios. When I got there, he gave me a cheque for a large sum of money. I was so confused I did not know what to do with it. He advised me to invest in real estate, property and stocks. That was the greatest advice I ever got,' he confessed a few years later in an interview.

African Queen was adapted for the soundtrack of a Hollywood movie, MO Fat Girls, earning the artiste millions of naira. The high point of that period was his endorsement deal with Guinness as it moved to unleash a new brand on Nigerians. The brand decided to buy into his brand credibility by making him the face of Guinness Extra Smooth. According to unconfirmed sources, the deal was worth millions of dollars. It was the first of its kind in the country.

As a testament to the fact that he had arrived, 2face acquired a Lincoln Navigator, which was a status symbol SUV at the time.

Still basking in the euphoria of success, he moved to release his sophomore album, Grass to Grace, which was another huge success. It had tracks like

One Love, No Shakin, I Dey Feel Like, See Me So, E Be Like Say, True Love, 4 Instance, If Love Is A Crime, Ocho and My Love, among others. He was the first to win an international award and after him came the D'banjs, the 9ices and others. This was an attestation to his pioneering role on the contemporary Nigerian music scene.

If he had a penchant for making hits, he also had a penchant for attracting men of the underworld to himself. Within a span of three years, he was attacked three times.

Just as his debut album was picking up in August 2004, Nigerians awoke to the shocking news of his attack by armed robbers and how he sustained serious injuries from machete cuts inflicted on him in his home in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos. For weeks, the nation held its breath as rumour spread that he was in critical condition and might be flown abroad for treatment. In a show of love, Nigerians reached out to him and women openly wept. Fans besieged and camped outside Cedar Hospital, Festac Town, for days waiting to catch a glimpse of their star as he lay recuperating from injuries sustained during the attack.

However, it was a blessing in disguise as this soon transformed into sales of over a million copies of his debut effort.

Again, in October 2007, he was attacked by gunmen as he returned from the UK having clinched the MOBO Awards for Best African act for that year.

The media was abuzz! '2face Attacked by Armed Robbers, Armed Robbers Open Fire on 2face, 2face Dodges Armed Robber Bullets and 2face Escapes Death' dominated newspaper headlines the next day. Worried, friends and fans had tried to reach him in vain and a new dimension was added to the drama when it was reported that the singer was seriously wounded and might even die! Some sources even claimed that it was actually assassins that attacked him. There was an overwhelming outpouring of goodwill messages in newspaper reports. Ex Vice President, Atiku Abubakar reached out to him and prayed for his quick recovery. On his part, Lagos State Governor, Raji Fashola is rumoured to have picked up the tab for his treatment at an expensive hospital in Lagos. It was another blessing in disguise as this transmitted into sales running into millions of copies for Grass To Grace, his sophomore effort. The artiste couldn't have had it better as Kennis Music smiled to the bank. Only an icon could have evoked such outpouring of love.

Hell was let loose again in Lagos on the night of January 31, 2008, as he was again a victim of armed robbers who dispossessed him of his Range Rover SUV. Unlike past experiences, where he was shot and badly injured, he only got a couple of slaps!

The way the cookie crumbles

By the end of 2007, 2face was as fit as the USS Missouri and it would seem like nothing could sink him.

However, the very forces that made him went into reverse thrust. With the fame came women in their numbers and Innocent Idibia was a sinner! With irresistible looks that could kill, these girls were not only attracted to him; they were ready to do anything for a roll in the hay.

For these women, 2face was an obsession!

As much as African Queen saw the mighty rise of 2face, it could also be said that it was the bedrock of his fall! Women wanted to have him for their own; for keeps! They would do anything to touch his sleeves or have him spare them a glance.

With a number of women claiming to be pregnant for him, 2face, who had once been linked to actresses like Vien Tetsola and Caroline Ekanem, raised the bar when he got three women pregnant at the same time! And the media, always looking for sleaze, latched onto it.

Beginning with Sumbo Ajaba, who has two kids for him, the attention shifted to Pero Adeniyi, who had a daughter and a son for him. Nigerians had scarcely taken in the news when it emerged that Annie Macaulay was heavily pregnant for him. Though she lost the pregnancy in a crash, today, she is the proud mother of his daughter, Isabella.

This triggered a series of negative reports in the media depicting the singer as a flagrant skirt-chaser.

Mothers who once sang the praises of 2face began to warn their daughters against being obsessed with him and men of his kind. The man once referred to as a gift to women became a curse to them.

Overnight, he became the butt of jokes as comedians cashed in on the situation to sell themselves to the public. The name Innocent became a synonym for bed-hopping, and the popular pidgin saying on the street was: 'If you dey look for pikin, go meet 2face.'

According to unconfirmed reports, though he was the most popular Nigerian act in the world at the time, he lost out on Glo Ambassadorship due to his bedding prowess.

In an attempt to take advantage of the negative hype, he did a song, Enter the Place, in which he urged girls to enter the place with their big behinds and see if they wouldn't get pregnant. He went on to release an experimental album but it was a massive failure and the star's fortunes began to dwindle despite getting sustained airplay.

As the controversy gained momentum, 2face parted ways with Kennis Music and set up his own label, Hypertek. At the time in a national interview, while justifying his decision to quit Kennis Music, he had declared: 'For me, this is about personal development. Hypertek is a move I have to make.'

As early as late 2007, he had recruited his backup singer, Natzi (Wale Owoyemi) as his manager. He went on to sign on his siblings, Hycinth Idibia and John Agon (Da Natives) and, despite the poor showing of Enter the Place, he went on to drop the full album entitled Unstoppable, which faced distribution and sales problems.

Meanwhile, Hypertek had become a drainpipe. Insiders say he splurged millions of naira on the label, yet it failed to grow. All the while, the industry was watching. The Star who was used to getting nominations and clinching awards had been neglected to the back burner as the nominations stopped coming and he was in the cold. Things got so bad that there were reports of South African girls claiming that 2face fathered their kids. This he denied vehemently.

One embarrassing story, which was widely circulated on the Internet, had the headline: 2face Idibia, AIDS is real! A reference to his sexual escapades.

Ironically, the man who had advertised condoms on

TV was obviously not making use of them. In some Internet chatrooms, Nigerians even described him as a disgrace. His image as a role model took a serious bashing and it was becoming too much for Nigerians who expected their Star to be perfect.

Overwhelmed by the negative press, the act had diplomatically apologized to Nigerians, saying that he was sorry for his conduct. However, he insisted that he was only being human. He even announced plans for a wedding, but refused to disclose who the woman was and to this day, his marital status is not defined.

In an interview at the height of the scandals, he had stated: 'I know people's expectation of me is obviously not having kids from different women. But the fact is that I love my kids, and I'm just going to take care of them. I'm going to turn whatsoever bad situation to a positive one.'

Rather than distance himself from his many women and kids, he stuck to them and at any opportunity, told Nigerians how much he loved his offsprings and how he intended to turn a bad situation into a good one.

Things got so bad that in late 2008, it seemed the end had come. Indeed, it could have been the end of the dream. Unstoppable 2face was becoming stoppable!

And the rise again!

Just when it seemed 2face had become stoppable and the media were ready to turn their back on him, unless the issue revolved around his liter of babies and his women, he proved that he was too legit to quit. True to his words, 'I'm just going to turn whatsoever bad situation to a positive one.' Nigerians woke up to discover that he was unstoppable indeed!

The nation watched with skepticism as he moved to re-strategize and re-brand. First, he shut down his label, Hypertek and fell out with his back-up singer turned manager, Natzi.

It was obvious that the singer knew he needed professional management and so he hooked up once more with Now Muzik, the midwife of the transformation from 2face of the defunct Plantashun Boiz to 2face Idibia in 2004. He charmed his way again into the hearts of Nigerians and returned with a bang!

When Implication, the single from his repacked Unstoppable album hit the airwaves, it was obvious that the master had returned to claim what was rightfully his. The airwaves were filled with his voice and images. He rose to th top and dominated the charts. Those who wanted to ignore him could not as he was literally everywhere, on radio and TV.

According to unofficial figures, Implication has received over 500,000 downloads and still counting.

Last weekend marked a climax of sorts of his return when his show tagged: 2Face LIVE, held at Eko Hotel & Suites, was completely sold out. It was a feat! For the first time in a long time, a show of that magnitude was built around the brand credibility of just one artiste, 2face and it was a resounding success. As a build-up to the event, 2face had seized the airwaves for weeks as his videos and songs reverberated across the nation.

Once more, he is blazing a new trail and other artistes are rushing to duplicate his efforts and success.

Until recently, CDs sold for a N100. But his new repackaged CD is going for a whopping N1,000 and reliable sources say that it has gone Gold, hitting the N50,000 mark.

This has kick-started what has been christened the 2face Revolution. As at last count, 9ice, OJB Jezreal, D'banj, among others, are wrapping up plans to jack up the price of their CDs to N1,000. In fact, 9ice is gunning for an ambitious N1,500 thus breaking the myth that CDs could not sell for more than N100 in Nigeria because of the activities of pirates.

Lately, he has been a special guest on a number of A list TV shows, including Teju Babyface Show. His recent success was recently reviewed by Femi Johnson on his TV programme, Brand & Marketing Network on TV Continental. Indeed, 2face has proved to be Unstoppable!

As he returns to centerstage, the women are back and idolizing him, the media are again waiting, watching and stalking. But is 2face the wiser? Does he know that this is another chance? Implication? Only time will tell.

PASTOR DENNIOS INYANG @ 50: MY WIFE MARRIED ME WHEN EVERY OTHER WOMAN WOULD HAVE REJECTED ME.

 I had been seated and waiting for over 30 minutes when his secretary, light complexioned Jenny lit my afternoon with another bright toothy smile.

“Pastor will see you now,” Jenny motioned to me as she led the way into a matchbox outer office that led to two inner large offices.

To the left was the office of Aity Dennis-Inyang, a gospel singer, and the pastor’s wife of 23 years. The door was ajar and I could hear her talking on the phone. Jenny led me to the office on the right and politely ushered me into the office of the presiding pastor of Sure Word Assembly, Pastor Dennis Inyang. As I stepped in, the strong aroma edikanikong soup assailed my nostrils and I remembered I hadn’t had breakfast and it was way past 2pm.

Pastor Inyang is a stickler for perfection. From his fine tailored dress to his neat office, it was obvious that the man sitting before me was dapper.

One thing you can’t ignore is the absence of clutter on his desk. Every item seemed to be in the right place. A grin broke his face as he peered at me from behind his designer spectacles, outlining a perfect set of glistening white teeth as I flopped into a chair opposite him.

Pastor Inyang has definitely paid his dues in the ministry. Born again over three decades ago, at the age of 16, he was ordained into full pastoral ministry by Archbishop Benson Idahosa. In 1998 he founded Sure Word Assembly after serving under Archbishop Idem Ikon and having a short training at Word of Faith Bible Institute under Bishop David Oyedepo. He is happily married to his friend, Aity, one of Nigeria’s most outstanding gospel music ministers.

Romance

Pastor Inyang met Aity while studying at the

University of Calabar. For him it was a case of love at first sight the moment he set eyes on the damsel, who would later become his wife.

“We met at the University of Calabar at a programme that was hosted by the Christian Union. Interestingly, the programme was tagged: I’ve Found It; probably that was prophetic,” begins Pastor Inyang, a look of nostalgia etched on his face.

“She got saved that night and came on the podium to give her testimony. The moment I saw her something within me was stirred and I said in my heart, ‘this is a beautiful girl. I must meet her again!”

By the end of the service, he was restless and overcome by a strong desire to meet Aity one-on-one; and so he pleaded with his covenant brother in church saying that he just had to meet the young girl that gave testimony during the programme. “It turned out I knew her roommate and we started visiting. Eventually we became friends and started a relationship.

“She was16 and I was 20 when we met and fell in love with each other. It took two years for me to ask her to marry me. I had no money when I proposed to her; it was by faith and not a function of how much I had,” he confessed, adding that his dream had been to tie the knot at the age of 25.

Proposal

Inyang says proposing to his wife was something he planned and executed meticulously because he was keen on winning his future wife’s heart as well as making sure she truly loved him.

“I did mine like a village boy,” he says recounting that romantic evening years ago at the University of Calabar. “She knew my intentions but I didn’t know she already knew that I planned to propose to her the day I did. I made all the preparation and asked her out that evening. We went somewhere at Malabo in UNICAL.

“I started telling her about myself, about my mother and father and the fact that they were not together anymore. I told her about the challenges I had growing up. How I was going through school and how I didn’t come from a very wealthy family. I was just downloading on her. I told her that chances

were that we would live in the village since I had no plans to go anywhere because I was a village boy.

“I told her that my village was a local place and we did not have good roads, no pipe borne water and no electricity. I was trying to scare her, to test her love. And when I was done with all of that, I told her that I wanted her to marry me. I thought she was going to tell me what other born again girls would say which was, ‘let me go pray about it.’

“Back then in the Christian Union, it was unthinkable for any girl to say yes to a man the first time he proposed. You needed to keep the man waiting and probably say, ‘I will pray about it’ possibly for three or six months and all of that. But I was surprised that she said yes right on the spot! And when she told me yes, I was happy, I was overjoyed and that was just the beginning.”

Rejected

However, his dreams for an early marriage soon ran into a brick wall because he did not reckon with the opposition he was going to face from his father in-law.

By the time he was done with youth service he did not have a salaried job but was determined to press on with his marriage plans. However, his father in-law gave him a no no.

“I think her father had reasons to say ‘no, you can’t marry my daughter!’ And I had to wrestle with that for many years. I had to beg and plead. I really didn’t look like the prospective son-in-law he wanted to have. I didn’t drive a car, I didn’t have a good job and I didn’t look like someone that could lift the family so he was not impressed.”

In retrospect he adds that if he was in the shoes of his father-in-law, Inyang says he probably would have done the same because his financial state was pathetic: “To be fair to the man, we were really very young,” he says laughing, “May be too young at the time we first approached him. When I look at our wedding picture, I don’t blame the man much for saying no. Probably if I were in his shoes, I probably would have done the same. After everything, God helped us and we were able to get married and settle down.”

Answering the call

For Pastor Inyang, coming into the ministry as a pastor was never planned because his dream had always been to be a businessman who would support the church from time to time. However, God had other plans.

After he got saved in 1979, he started evangelizing by making tracks and got involved with the Christian Union at UNICAL. In 1991 he was ordained an elder and from there he became an assistant pastor and finally a pastor.

Recounting the long road to God’s vineyard, Inyang says unlike other pastors, he never heard a voice urging him to dump his job and take up the ministry: “My getting involved in the ministry was gradual. God led me one step after the other until a point when he actually led me into full time ministry. I did not see an angel or hear God’s audible voice but while on a fast in 1994 seeking direction for my life, I read an article by Jamie Buckingham in Charisma Magazine on the call of Moses. As I read that material, I came under a strong conviction that God wanted me to serve Him in full-time ministry. And I said, ‘Yes, Lord, here I am.’

Sure Word Assembly

Today, he is the presiding pastor at Sure Word Assembly, a church located in Ago Palace Way, Lagos, founded 14 years ago.

The name, Sure Word Assembly, was chosen because of the belief that there is nothing that God does outside His Word.

Hear him: “If God wants to do anything, first of all, He would send His Word. How did God create the world? He spoke it into being. He said, ‘Let there be’ and there was. The Bible says that when His people were in trouble and distress, they cried unto Him and He sent His word and His word healed and delivered them. Everything will pass away but the word of God abides forever. He will bring to pass all that He has promised. He cannot fail; so God’s word is sure. By the time we were prepared to start our church, these were the things that came to my mind so we called it Sure Word Assembly aka The Megalife Centre.

“The Megalife Centre is the International Headquarters of Sure Word Assembly. The bible says, ‘The thief comes not but to steal, to kill and to destroy but I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.’ Having life more abundantly is having the mega life. The life of God is life without limits. That is the mega life and we believe that by coming here you will make contact with the mega life, receive the mega life and live life without limits,” he says with emphasis.

Continuing he says: “We are raising a breed of worshippers who love the Lord and draw from the dynamic power of the Spirit within them to cause positive change. One thing I tell my people is that I am a pastor who is not interested in long prayer lines. I believe in what I call DIY Christianity (Do It Yourself). I believe that everyone can hear from God and should learn to hear from God.

“I believe that I should bring up my members well to a point where they take authority over the devil. I believe that the pastor is not a lone star or the only mega star. That is why at Sure Word we turn members into disciples and disciples into ministers. And our vision is for a church of ministers committed to taking the gospel to the nations of the world.”

Book, books and more books…

Aside being a pastor, Inyang has also authored a dozen books. He opens up on his writing career: “I have written over 10 books. The first book I wrote was entitled Choose to Grow. It was borne out of the burden to teach converts to grow in the Lord. Another is 10 Simple Ways To Get A Divorce & 10 Ways To Avoid It. That’s an eye popping title but it’s actually a satire. Many marriages have been helped by that little book. I have a book for singles entitled, So You Want to Marry? My ministry has a strong emphasis on marriage. We devote every August to teaching on marriage every year.”

Another book he has written is You’re Sitting On A Goldmine, a book on business and finances. “I think that book has made more impact than any other book that I have written. It details what you have to do to create wealth from nothing. I found out that there was a gap between what the preacher was preaching about prosperity and what the experiences of the people were. The Man of God would prophesy over the people, pour oil on their heads and take a powerful special offering yet the people were still poor. You know, in some circles all you need to do to prosper is sow a sacrificial seed. While you cannot undermine the place of sowing a seed to get a financial harvest, there is more to prosperity than giving a fat offering in church.

“I realized that our people needed to get more practical and embrace time tested biblical principles for wealth creation. They needed to know how to generate money-making ideas, how to start business with little or no money, how to sell whatever product they had and how to grow from a small sole proprietor to a millionaire investor.”

“Another is No Second Fiddle premised on the statement that you can actually be the best in life no matter where you are coming from. It actually details 10 steps that will help you to achieve excellence and become the best in life.”

Golden anniversary

Earlier in the year, Inyang clocked 50. With a pleasant smile he relates what it feels like to hit the golden age: “It feels good to be 50. When I clocked 50 I posted somewhere that I don’t have to wonder any more what it feels like to be 50 because finally I have made it. I think it’s a milestone. I am grateful to God.”

On a more serious note he continues: “What makes I it so special is that I look back and I find out that I have cheated death at least four times. When I was about six years old I fell into a well. I was walking with my step mum when suddenly I slipped and fell into the well. I would have drowned but by God’s grace I held onto something and my step mum was able to rescue me.

“My second experience was in my secondary school days. I had entered a vehicle to a football match along with other fan club members and the vehicle somersaulted. The last thing I remembered was singing our club song and then I saw myself sitting by the roadside with policemen all around me and I was happy to be alive!

“The third time was when I was in the university. I was going to pick the cheque for my bursary and head to the bank. I was on a motorbike and we were traveling at full speed. Suddenly, a car crossed the road without any warning. I sat at the back of the bike knowing that we would crash into the car and I knew there was nothing I could do about it! Then I heard a bang and I saw myself lifted up. I fell head first on the tarred road, but by the grace of God, where my head made impact was a pothole filled with sand in the middle of the road! That was what saved me!

“The fourth one was in Lagos here. My wife and I were returning from Golden Gate Restaurant after an event. It was about 9pm in the night. I was driving and my wife was sitting by me. As we were approaching the Third Mainland Bridge, a car had blocked the road and I saw very young boys, all armed to the teeth. Robbery wouldn’t necessarily mean that I survived death but what makes me count it as escaping death was that as they were trying to rob us, one of the guys cocked his gun to shoot at me. I don’t know what I did to make him want to shoot me but another guy, a member of the gang pounced on him and pushed the gun away from me. I think if the guy had not done that, I probably would have been dead!

“So when I turned 50, these things came back to my mind and I was so happy that God kept me alive and that’s why I believe God is going to give me a long life. If I didn’t die in the first half, He will keep me alive in the second half. The Bible guarantees that I will live to a very old age.”

Sweet mother

50 years after, what’s been his greatest regret, what are those things he’d want to do differently?

“There are always things one could do differently with the benefit of hindsight though I can’t really think of any right now. But there is something I wish I could change. I had a great relationship with my mother. When I look back I wish she had lived long enough to see who I have become, to see how her little boy turned out, because she laboured and did so much for me. She did not live long enough to see me become who I am today. She went to be with the Lord in 1991. That’s one area I wish I could change. At the time she died she was actually living with me because I was her only child.”

Happiest moments

Pastor Inyang says that in the past 50 years he has had many great moments. A happy glow descends on his visage as he speaks: “My happiest moments?” he asks rhetorically as he responds to the question, “I have had great moments; I don’t know which of them is happiest. Getting married to my wife, Aity, was one of them. My wife has been my friend, my confidant, my counsellor and I think I couldn’t have married a better girl. My wife married me at a time it seemed I had no future.

“I often make a joke that if I had been given free of charge to some ladies and even if that lady was paid a salary she would have rejected me and probably pleaded the blood of Jesus! Maybe I have exaggerated that a bit, but I am just trying to make the point that she did not marry me for anything material she could get because I had nothing.

“Another day was the day we had our baby, Kasemfon. The name means behold the grace of God: we also call her, Lovely. She has been such a great blessing. She is just a year old. My friends came from all over to celebrate with us because this was a baby of ours after lots and lots of years of not having a baby of our own.

“Another great moment was when we started Sure Word Assembly. When God called us into the ministry, the question was, ‘how were we going to do it?’ We didn’t have money. In fact the only money I had was N3, 920. And that was the money I used to pay for the hotel we used and printed handbills.”

Celebrations galore

Turning 50 is indeed a milestone event and Pastor Inyang revealed that plans are ongoing for a robust celebration and thanksgiving services that will hold on April 20 and 21: “We will celebrate my anniversary on April 20 and the thanksgiving service will be on April 21. Our church has decided that they want to make it a big thing. My friends from Lagos and outside Lagos have been notified already so we believe that we are going to have friends and family join us to give thanks unto God. “Let me use this medium to invite all my friends that I may not be able to personally reach and all the people who wish me well to come and share my joy. It’s a time to celebrate my life and to celebrate what God has been able to do with me, for me and through me.

“When I remember where God brought me from, I have no choice than to celebrate God’s grace. I talked about cheating death four times. I also cheated poverty. At a time in my life, I was in deep poverty. I had no food to eat, no clothes to wear and no roof over my head. Things were so bad that I was merely surviving on the goodwill and charity of my friends. Sometimes I would visit them when I thought I would catch them having a meal. As you can guess, it didn’t always work out.

“When I came to Lagos, I returned to square one. I used to eat on credit and trekked long distances along the express because I had no fare. One day, life lost meaning to me and suicide appeared a quick way to end all the suffering. Thank God I snapped out of it. I then poured myself into what God has called and anointed me to do.

“Today, food, clothes, accommodation and cars are not my problem anymore. God has confirmed a revelation He gave to me in those bad times. I had the opposite of Pharaoh’s dream. In my dream, seven fat cows ate up seven lean cows. That is why I know the good times are only beginning.”

Pastors and materialism

Pastors these days are accused of being materialistic and leading souls away from Christ. After so many years in the ministry, how does he feel about this development?

“The accusation you are referring to is generalized and so cannot be true. While there may be pastors that are dumping salvation, to borrow your expression, that is certainly not applicable to every pastor, or most pastors. Any pastor that dumps the message of salvation will not be relevant to God.

“I believe materialism is the spirit of acquiring wealth, or owning things for selfish ends to satisfy one’s lust and greed. I always emphasize that the difference between prosperity and materialism is purpose. If you acquire wealth to put it to good use, helping the poor and needy, creating jobs for the common good, making a difference in the society or your community, investing in the expansion of God’s kingdom and such other things, that is not materialism.

“But I will not pretend to you that I don’t know where the problem is. I think that accusation is based on the feeling that pastors are milking the people with their prosperity message and living flashy lifestyles. Unfortunately, people judge pastors based on what they perceive as the ostentatious lifestyles of very few pastors. It is my conviction that most pastors in Nigeria are living below poverty level. Someone may show me a few pastors with luxurious mansions and private jets.

“My question is ‘do the hundreds of thousands of pastors in Nigeria have private jets?’ How many are living in mansions? How many are driving flashy cars? I say that not from the point of speculation but from the point of knowledge. I know that many pastors can’t meet their basic needs. In fact, the truth is that pastors have challenges doing the work of the gospel that exceeds what the average person can relate with.

“There are certainly some pastors that are doing the wrong thing. In any fold there are quacks and fakes. Some people are there for the wrong reasons. You will agree with me that there are fake journalists and lawyers as well. There are fake pastors too, false prophets and false apostles as well. There are people whose god is their belly, who are making merchandise of the gospel.

“They sell anointing oil, manipulate people with fake prophecies and stage-manage miracles all in a bid to squeeze money out of the people.  But they are not in the majority. The majority of pastors are salvation-minded. They preach salvation and righteousness but they also need to preach prosperity too because

you can’t have one without the other.”
Would he buy a private jet? And he responds: “At my level of ministry right now that does not come into the configuration but because I have so many things to do, there could come a time in the life of ministry that I might need a private jet. If that becomes a need to function in the ministry, God will give me a jet.